Trip To Guangzhou - Final Part

I totally agreed that shopping in Guangzhou was indeed a pleasant experience that will surely be able to attract even those who are not inclined to shop whatever catches their fancy. After been here for the last 3 days, succinct for me to say that this city had some extremely magnificent malls and streets, which offered you almost anything that you might desire.

Since it was our last day in Guangzhou and we would be leaving for home tonight, it definitely be the electronic and digital products center that I will be heading for in the morning, while afternoon will be time for packing. But sadly to admit, I felt disappointed and dismayed as it was not as what I had been expecting. Obviously, I overrated Guangzhou's electronic products highly after seeing some impressive China-made gadgets owned by friends back home like the dual-sim card mobile phone, mini-TV, GPS, tab etc. But perhaps given more time, I might have a different view on this as I only spent half a day at here.

When buying modern electronic goods especially IT related products, be extra careful as some people complained of having paid exorbitant sums only to recognize that they have got Chinese products and not the original branded items. If you are a great fan of Apple product like me, I would not recommend you to buy it here unless you are really sure that it's really a genuine Apple's dealer. But then again, for this kind of product, you can have a better deal or package back home in Malaysia.

If there are things that I would not recommend you to buy in Guangzhou, it is locally-made IT related products. If you are not careful, you could easily be cheated as there had been many cases reported. I could only say that I learned this through my own experienced here. I would not want to dwell further on this but please google and read for yourself somewhere else in the internet.

Apart from small items like headset, power bank, USB cable, charger etc, the best purchased that I got myself here is a non-branded telephoto zoom lens for my iPhone 5 which feature a 20x zoom magnification. It came with a sleek, matte black iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 case that could be twisted the lens onto. To compose the shot just twist the grip on the lens' manual focus ring to make it sharp and snap. I had seen quite similar product at KL's Low Yat and Singapore's Sim Lim Square at a much more expensive price.

As soon as we arrived in KL, I tried the zoom lens taking a shot at some housing estate nearby from quite a distance at our home, and also brought it to take some shots at CIMB Classic Golf at KLGCC. It came out satisfactory as below.

Considered as a very modern and vibrant city, Guangzhou to me is still worth a visit, if only you are prepared with well-planned itinerary and be extra careful when exploring the city abounds with fabulous shopping areas.

If you have any intention of making a trip to Guangzhou soon, below are some of the things that worthwhile for me to share:

- Communication can be a problem. Chinese people though industrious and business minded, generally does not speak English and if you are lucky, you will find some speak only little English. It would be of great help to pay English-speaking tourist or shopping guide.

- Do not take private cars for taxi especially if you are traveling alone and not quite sure exactly where your destinations is. Possibility they may drop you half way. And also at some point of time, taxi can be difficult to get, that will leave you with not much choice but to go on a tricycle of which Ana and I frequently used while we were here.

- Print all the relevant destinations like hotel, consulate, malls etc in Chinese language (it can be different in English), it's important to have just in case you get lost and can show that to taxi driver. The hotel card is easily available and they encourage you to have it all along.

- If you thought toilets in Malaysia are dirty, wait till you enter Guangzhou's public toilet. Be prepared for the smell, because it can be so terrible, yuck! And also they don't provide tissue in toilets.

- Be careful with currency exchange. Never change your money on the streets or exchange booths, they will cheat you by giving you fake money or less amount of money and you won't even realize it.

4D3N trip to Guangzhou was just nice for us, but if you are thinking of more visits to tourist or historical sites, advisable you should stay longer. Shopping will be taking much of your time as you can be spoiled of choice here.

Checking-in for a flight home is easy and straight forward. As we were shopping only for our own domestic or personal use, we didn't face any problem with Malaysian Custom and Excise upon arrival at LCCT. I was a bit worry with my oversized golf luggage, but apparently golf items did not bother custom officers at all. Our luggage (we went with 2 and came back with 7), were not even touched or asked by them. I like that.

Ana and I were so glad that, after years of contemplating about it, we finally had a chance to visit Guangzhou, our first trip to mainland China. And making things better, we were traveling with a group of friendly and understanding peoples in our group tour. Despite all the not so good things that we discovered in Guangzhou, we still looking forward to have another opportunity like this in future and by that time, we should know our way better.

All the best.

Trip To Guangzhou - Part 4

Huaisheng Mosque in Guangzhou, built about 1300 years ago is one of the oldest mosques in China and is an excellent place to visit if you want to learn about Islamic culture in China. With traditional Guangdong architecture, it still plays a very important role in Muslim life in Guangzhou, welcoming Muslims from all over the world, including tourist and businessmen who are here either on leisure or  business trip.

Located at one of the quieter part of the city, this place is kind of hidden with serene ambiance and surrounded with several halal enterprises nearby, making it a must-visit to Muslims visiting Guangzhou. Our group spent a bit of time here to shop for food especially tit-bits at the halal supermarket across the road.

After the muslim site-tour program in the morning, top on the list of our itinerary today was shopping at fabric and textile market. And of course you-know-who was really looking forward to this kind of stop-over.

If you thought Jakel or along Jalan Masjid India KL was the bomb for shopping for fabric and textile, wait till you head to this area in Guangzhou.  Zhongda fabric market with other trading building nearby is really one of the largest markets I could ever access.

Technically, the storefronts in the building were showrooms for factories so if they do not have existing stock, they might offer for you to collect or send to you in a minimum order quantity in a few hours or the next day. Most were for wholesale business, so it's understandable that the price for small cuts of existing stock and mass production will be different. Keep in mind that many shops might not keep their existing stock in the store itself so its always the case they needed between an hour to one day to bring the fabric to the shopfront for you. And if you were to collect later, check thoroughly to make sure its the same as what you had placed order earlier.

Generally, the fabric in this building that we went to pertain to apparel making. Here you will find pure cotton, blends, silk, waterproof polyster, etc. Floors and floors of fabric swatches line the corridors of the building. Ana and I wasn't really sure where to begin. We were a little worried that the store owners would ignore us since we weren't really there to buy wholesale, so Ana took some time looking through the swatches.

While Ana going gaga over the fabrics and silk clothing available, naughty me took a bit of time to have my photo taken with some not so pretty salesgirls, which I thought if they were to come working in Malaysia, they could be made a good golf's caddies.

Just a reminder, be very careful to watch where you're going, even if you are in the building or mall, something we were not familiar with in our own country. There were a lot of bicycles, motorcycles and tricycle carrying fabric goods moving along swiftly and you definitely don't want to get in their way. I am sure most of us were not accustomed or never experienced to having a bicycle or motorcycle in the same lift.

The next time you're in Guangzhou, lady in particular, take some time to visit this fabric market. You should be prepared to wait for the fabric delivery. The roads could be congested and what the store owners promised may not be true, but if you're patient you could uncover some really pretty fabric.

In the afternoon, we had our own individual program, continued exploring, going here and there in Guangzhou's busy central commercial centre, with more confidence after been here for the last 2 days. You might not have must choice but to use tricycle as traffic can be terribly bad here.

Later in the evening, we went to Shang Xia Jiu Lu pedestrian street, a place bright with neon lights. I honestly think this place is good to visit for experience but nothing fantastic at this location. We just strolled along the street which was quite a long walk.

So many shops, so many restaurants and cafe along the street. Nothing here appeal much to both Ana and I. Imitation products and cheap quality clothing usually found here and the place was also very crowded and filled mostly with locals so it's definitely harder to bargain if you are foreigner or can't speak Chinese.

Anyway, it's still worth coming here since this could be said as part of the Chinese culture, that is being in the crowded place with the Chinese people. In short, I could only say this, not worth to shop, worth to explore.

Next will be the Final Part of our Trip To Guangzhou. Have a good day ahead.